Volunteers sought to find hemlock-damaging bugs in Maine park

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Forest Service is looking for help identifying the bugs that are damaging hemlock trees in a southern Maine park.

Volunteers are needed for a survey of hemlock woolly adelgid at Vaughan Woods State Park in South Berwick. Forest entomologist Allison Kanoti says teams are needed to survey the presence of the insects and the number of hemlock trees in the park.

Kanoti says a volunteer surveyor first detected the hemlock woolly adelgid in the park last December, and the infestation appears to be in the early stages. Now officials want to know how much of the park’s woods are affected.

The park survey is scheduled for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday. The Forest Service says volunteers are asked to register by 9 a.m. Monday.